Enjoy Nuevo Mexico the Land of Enchantment...
Whether you stay in Albuquerque and enjoy day trips or leave for more serious exploring, we invite you to explore New Mexico offering experiences found nowhere else on earth.
Enjoy
New Mexico, including staying after the conference
for the 38th
Annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
Enjoy New Mexico
There’s so much to see in New Mexico…
- Visit Santa Fe, our state capital, which was
founded by Spanish settlers in 1610, making it the oldest capital city in North America. Visit the Indian Market outside the Palace of the Governors, explore the “City Different’s” many museums, or visit the “Miraculous Staircase” at the Loretto Chapel. The staircase was built in the mid-nineteenth century with two 360 degree turns, no nails and no visible means of support. The itinerant carpenter who built it disappeared without pay or thanks after it was done.
- Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon, approximately two hours north of Albuquerque, was a hub of ceremony, trade, and administration for the prehistoric Four Corners area. Monumental public and ceremonial buildings with astronomical alignments can be visited via a walking tour. The settlement was mysteriously abandoned in the thirteenth century.
- Visit one of the
nineteen pueblos located throughout New Mexico and experience Native America as you’ve never seen it before.
- Whether or not you believe in Unidentified Flying Objects and aliens, you owe it to yourself to at least find out what happened in 1947 in Roswell. Visit the site at which the United States Government admitted that a UFO had crashed only miles from town and explore the International UFO Museum downtown.
- You'd be in good company if you admitted that you're interested in New Mexico’s native son Billy the Kid. Visit the Billy the Kid Museum in Fort Sumner and the adjacent graveyard where the Kid is buried….or is he?
Enjoy the 38th Annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta!
The 2009 Southwest Conference on Disability ends on Friday afternoon, and early Saturday morning nearly eight hundred hot air balloons from around the world will lift off from the banks of the Rio Grande in a mass ascension to open the 38th annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Stay the weekend and enjoy one of the world’s most spectacular sights!
Each year, over one hundred thousand visitors from around the world watch early morning mass ascensions, enjoy a traditional breakfast burrito, stroll on Balloon Fiesta Field after dark to watch balloon glows, and see special shape ascensions.
Visitors can stroll or roll among the balloons as they’re preparing to lift off, and are often asked to help out by balloon crews! Spectacular fireworks displays are offered on many evenings.
Accessible parking is available. Scooters and wheelchairs available to rent. There is also a shuttle that runs the length of the Park.
Because hotel space is at a premium during this time, please book your hotel room and rental cars early if you plan on staying for the Fiesta!
Additional information about the fiesta is available at: http://www.balloonfiesta.com
